It seems like I remember reading somewhere that there is a name for a plot device that is used as an easy out.
Some people think Gwahir is a good example of this. Always showing up in the nick of time to save the day.
Another example is the car in the new Harry Potter movie. I won’t spoil it for those that haven’t seen it but those who have seen it will know what I’m talking about.
So what is this called?
Deus ex machina ?
What deus ex machina means.
Finally, a use for that Greek history class in university…
Deus Ex Machina is the term I’ve always heard. It comes from a common practice among playwrights in ancient Greece, wherein they would paint their hero into a situation where doom was virtually assured and, out of nowhere, a god would appear to save the day. This god would be dropped onto the set via a great big crane and pulleys machine, as if flying in. Hence the term, which literally means “god from the machine.”
BTW, I’ve never heard the Greek phrase. I assume that the Romans co-opted it and translated into Latin when they took over the world.
Thank you. I could’ve sworn it was called something else but that is obviously exactly what I was looking for.
Who is Gwahir?
He is the lord of the eagles in Middle Earth. I don’t want to give anything from the future away but so far he has:
-Saved the company’s butt in The Hobbit
-Rescued Gandalf from Orthanc
-Flown Gandalf off the top of the mountain where he died after the battle with the Balrog.
Gwaihir puts in one appearance in each of the 3 books, plus once in the Hobbit.
Regarding Gwaihir’s upcoming role in The Return of the King … to quote Sam Gamgee, “Third time pays for all.”
His reappearance in The Return of the King is one of several where LoTR explicitly links back to events in The Hobbit.
Gwaihir is a descendant of Thorongil, the super-Eagle of the Elder Days, who had a wingspan of, IIRC, some 30 feet. The super Eagles are one of several races of pre-ancient megafauna in Middle-Earth. Other examples are super-Spiders (like Shelob, descendant of Ungoliant), mastodons (mûmakil, Oliphaunts), winged dinosaurs (ridden by the Nazgûl), super-bovines (the Kine of Araw), and dire wolves (Wargs). Perhaps also the super-Horses (Mearas), although the Mearas seem to have been the same size as ordinary horses, only superior in intelligence, courage, and character. The Mearas stand in relation to ordinary horses analogously as Elves to Men.
Jimbo, the original Greek phrase is theos ek mekhanes.